Stair Nosing & Treads

Stairs can be an incredibly dangerous place for both your employees and any visitors to your business, so it's important that these issues are addressed to reduce the risk of accidents. With so many people experiencing an injury as a result of stair relating accidents, preventing slippages and trips on steps is crucial for ensuring safety.

Stair nosing and treads is a great way to assist with workplace safety as they create a strong and durable platform that provides an anti-slip surface on steps and staircases.

You can view our buying guide, which has more details on stair nosing, treads and what they are used for.

What is stair nosing?

Stair nosing is the common term for the slightly protruding, front edge of each stair in a staircase. It can take many forms, but in commercial and industrial settings, high-visibility, anti-slip stair nosing is generally fitted to prevent stair users from tripping or slipping. Some staircases are designed with built-in stair nosing, but it’s also possible to buy staircase nosings that can be fitted to the front edge of each stair tread to improve safety.

Do I need stair nosing?

If your business premises have stairs, then yes, you do. Stair nosing is a vital element of reducing the risk of slips and falls on stairs and should be fitted on any steps, inside and out – both on full staircases and in areas where there may be just a few steps or even just one.

Statistically speaking, stairs are a dangerous place to be. The British Standards Institution has estimated there are around 250,000 non-fatal accidents on stairs every year in the UK, and over 500 deaths as a result of falls on stairs. Statistics from the Office for National Statistics identify that there were 787 deaths recorded in England and Wales in 2015, caused by a fall on some kind of steps or staircase.

Obviously, there are some users who are more vulnerable than others. Stair safety is particularly vital if your business or organisation is regularly frequented by children or the elderly, 'but all environments can be made safer by ensuring that stairs are fitted with the correct treads and appropriate nosing and edging on steps.

Is stair nosing required by law in the UK?

Yes, there are actually a lot of regulations and guidelines that apply to stair safety in general. These cover the importance of correctly designed and fitted stair nosing.

Five separate documents provide guidance for the design of stairs (and use of stair nosing) in buildings with public or shared use:

Building Regulation Document K – Protection from falling

Building Regulation Document M – Access to and use of buildings

BS8300:2009+A1:2010 – Lighting of stepped access & slip resistance

BS9266:2013 – Design of accessible and adaptable general needs housing

Building Regulation Document K states that not only is it essential that stairs are fitted with nosing but also that businesses must make step nosing apparent by using a material that is a minimum of 55mm wide and, will contrast visually on both the stair tread and the riser. This document also advises that you should:

“avoid, if possible, step nosings that protrude over the tread below. If the nosing protrudes, ensure that this is by no more than 25mm.”

What colour should stair nosing be?

As stated above, the important thing is that stair nosing “contrasts visually” with the rest of the stairs, so while there are no hard and fast rules, your nosing should be a different colour to your floor covering and should be noticeable to stair users in normal conditions, given the type of lighting that the stairs are under.

A “contrasting colour” sounds vague, but in fact, every colour has a light reflectance value (LRV) of somewhere between 0 (black) and 100 (white). The recommendation is that there should be at least 30 LRV points difference between the stair nosing and the floor covering. Photoluminescent guidance systems, including stair nosing, can be a particularly effective safety solution, especially in an emergency situation.

Where do I buy stair nosing and replacement stair treads?

Here at Seton, we have a variety of products to make complying with laws and regulations regarding stair nosing and stair treads easy. Some of our best stair safety products include:

Anti-Slip Stainless Steel Tread with Nosings – Manufactured from a 1.5mm stainless steel base with an extremely hard-wearing abrasive temperature bonded to the surface, these treads are anti-slip and come in a variety of sizes and colours.